Oh, the weather outside is delightful,
But the Broncos season has been frightful.
And since they’ve no place to go,
Say it’s so: playoffs no; Broncos stink. Woe!
Bah. Humbug.
While they were shopping at the mall, playing video games and decorating the Christmas tree Sunday, the Broncos were eliminated from the postseason.
First on Sunday, the Cleveland Browns defeated the Buffalo Bills, and the Broncos no longer could qualify as a wild card. Then, the San Diego Chargers beat the Detroit Lions.
Given that the Chargers beat the Broncos in Denver 41-3, and the Lions beat the Broncos 44-7, and the Chargers beat the Lions on Sunday 51-14, it’s quite possible the Chargers could beat the Broncos 88-10 next Monday.
On the night before Christmas, the game will not be stirring.
‘Tis not the season. Wait ’til next year. Or the year after. Or 2011, maybe.
The people of Denver had to wait until Christmas Eve of the Broncos’ 18th season to experience the playoffs.
Now, for only the fourth time since 1977, the Broncos will miss the playoffs for consecutive seasons. They also were left out in 1980-81 and 1982 (strike season), 1994-95 and 2001-02.
Most disturbing, a franchise that advanced to the Super Bowl five times in 13 seasons has not been back to the Super Bowl in the past nine seasons, and the Broncos likely will have only their fifth losing season in the past 32.
We became accustomed to success — I moved here in 1974 — and a 15-15 record over almost two seasons, and no playoff games, is not success.
This isn’t a .500 town. This isn’t satisfactory. But this is a trend.
For much of the new millennium, the Broncos are a common, garden-variety also-ran. In four of their five playoff games they have lost 21-3, 41-10, 49-24 and 34-17. (They won one, 27-13, over New England. How times have changed.) If they had made the playoffs this year, the Broncos would have lost 40-something to 8 or something.
All of us must have become complacent, comfortable, contented.
The players — out-of-towners, trail-mixers and ne’er-do- wells — don’t seem to care whether they win or get blown out.
The points they have allowed in games — 31, 34, 37, 38, 41, 44 — sounds like that striped-sock bunch in 1960 — 30, 34, 38, 41, 45, 48.
And how about an offense that scores 15, 14, 13, 13, 7, 3 — which could be compared in an unfavorable manner to the 1960’s team 19, 14, 13, 10, 10, 7.
The fans don’t seem to care anymore. They departed before the fourth quarter when the Broncos were losing big and when the Broncos were winning big. Tickets were available on some game days, and the suite-holders were more interested in shrimp and the club-level crowd stayed inside at the bars. The South Standers have been dispersed, and those without tickets have turned their backs on Sunday.
The media aren’t as harsh. I was harder on The Young Duke than I am on Kid QB (and when I do criticize Jay Cutler, people scream at me to leave him alone), and I was demanding Dan Reeves’ dismissal in mid-December of 1992 before the team finished 8-8. (He got fired one year after coaching the Broncos to the AFC championship game.) Mike Shanahan coached himself into being a future Hall of Fame inductee, and he’s coaching himself out of Canton. And most of us are giving him a free pass. His feet must be held to the campfire.
Pat Bowlen no longer is a target of criticism. He gave up wearing the mink coat on the sideline and has doled out more money than Publishers Clearinghouse — hundreds of millions of dollars — on free agents who ended up playing as bums. Bowlen apparently is pitied.
Shanahan no longer shows the imagination and leadership that made him the designated offensive genius. Other offenses have flown by. No matter who Shanahan put in charge of the defense, it looks pathetic. Jim Bates gave us vanilla in a Neapolitan defensive game.
And the Broncos’ special teams, honestly, have been miserable for years. The last time Denver blocked a punt for a touchdown was in 2000, and the last time the Broncos blocked a field goal for a touchdown was in 1985. And they rarely block a punt or a field goal and rarely return a punt or a kickoff. Devin Hester.
This season began with Super expectations, but ends with stupor results.
It will be a blue Xmess for the Broncos, but Sunday’s elimination was merciful.
Woody Paige: 303-954-1095 or wpaige@denverpost.com
